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Guidelines for New or Changed Courses or Curriculum

All changes or additions to the curriculum at Valdosta State University follow the campus process outlined below. Other curriculum and course changes may also require notification of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), VSU’s accrediting agency; the Board of Regents; or the University System of Georgia’s General Education Council. This process can be time-consuming; depending on the change being proposed, official approval from VSU and any outside approvals may require up to 12 months or more.If programs have questions about whether their proposed changes will need to move beyond the VSU campus, they should consult VSU’s SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison or the Office of Academic Affairs.

If a department or a program wants a change to appear in the catalog for the beginning of the academic year in August, the entire process must generally be completed by February of that year.

Before beginning to initiate any curriculum changes, departments should thoughtfully consider the following questions and be able to provide documentation to support their answers:

For new courses:

What is the rationale for this new course? Is this course required by an outside accreditor? If so, why?

Will this course be required? Why?

If required, what in the current program of study will it replace?

Which program learning outcomes will this course support and how?

What specific qualitative and quantitative data does the program currently have to support the need for this course?

How, and how often, will the program assess the success of this course in meeting the specified learning outcomes?

What personnel and resources will the program provide to offer the course on the schedule indicated?

What other university courses have similar learning outcomes or subject matter?

What distinguishes this new course from these other course offerings?

For revisions to existing courses:

What is the rationale for these proposed changes? Is this change required by an outside accreditor? If so, why?

What qualitative and quantitative data already collected supports this revision?

How will assessment of the course be adjusted to reflect these revisions?

Will this revision require additional faculty or resources?

For revisions to the curriculum:

What is the rationale for this revision? Is this change required by an outside accreditor? If so, why?

What qualitative and quantitative data already collected supports this revision?

How will assessment of the curriculum be adjusted to reflect these revisions?

Will this revision require additional faculty or resources?

If new courses are being added, what in the old curriculum is being replaced to account for the adjustment and why?

Are specific courses being changed to reflect this revision; if so, how and why?

Proposing a New Academic Program

If a department wishes to propose a new degree program, it should first go through the following internal process:

(1) Discuss the proposed new degree program within the department and then with the college dean. If the dean wishes to pursue this proposal, the department should prepare a brief prospectus. This prospectus should contain the following information:

Name of proposed program

Degree

Major

What is the institution’s rationale for developing the proposed new academic program?

If the proposed program is not part of the institution’s academic forecast, why is this new degree program is being advanced as part of the institution’s array of degrees and majors?

If the institution has low degree producing programs, how does the proposed academic program fit and align strategically?

What is the projected enrollment for the program and on what basis were those estimates developed?

What additional institutional resources would be needed to launch this program?

(2) After this prospectus has been approved by the department and the college (and the Graduate Executive Committee, if a graduate program), the dean will bring it to the Deans’ Council. If the Deans’ Council approves, the department will prepare the USG One-Step New Academic Proposal/Approval Form. This form must be approved at all levels on the VSU campus before being sent for evaluation to the System Office.

Changing the Method of Delivery for an Existing VSU Program:

If a department, college, or division wishes to offer an existing degree program at another location or online, the External Degree Proposal Form from the University System of Georgia must be used, guidelines and forms available at the USG. A “Request for Revised Catalog Copy” form may also be needed for any catalog changes. These forms must follow the same campus process outlined above before being submitted to the USG.

Proposing New Certificates:

If a department, college, or division is proposing a new certificate program, the appropriate proposal form from the University System of Georgia must be used, guidelines and forms available at the USG. A VSU Request for a Curriculum Change form should be completed as well. After the on-campus process is complete, a Certificate Notification Form must be submitted to the USG.

Proposing New Minors:

If a department, college, or division is proposing a new minor, the appropriate proposal form from the University System of Georgia must be used, guidelines and forms available at the USG. A VSU Request for a Curriculum Change form should be completed as well. This form must follow the on-campus process outlined below. After the on-campus process is complete, a Notification form for New Minors must be submitted to the USG.

Proposing a New Course for VSU's CORE Curriculum:

If a department, college, or division is proposing a new course for VSU's core curriculum, the VSU Request for a New Course form should be used as well as the "Core Curriculum Course Proposal Form" for the University System of Georgia's General Education Council (available at. These forms must follow the same campus process outlined below before being submitted to the USG General Education Council. A copy of the USG online Core Course Proposal Form are available. Additional instructions for requesting a new VSU Perspectives Course are available on the Perspectives website.

Deactivating or Terminating a Program:

If a department, college, or division wishes to deactivate or terminate a program, the appropriate University System of Georgia form must be used, guidelines and forms available at the USG. This form must be accompanied by the VSU “Request to Deactivate a Course/Program” form and follow the same campus process outlined above before being submitted to the USG.

A Note About Substantive Change:

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges requires institutions to report substantive changes in a timely manner to remain compliant with Standard 3.12. According to SACSCOC, "substantive change is a significant modification or expansion in the nature and scope of an accredited institution." VSU's Academic Committee, Academic Deans, and Provost's Office are the principal initiators or approvers of items which may be considered a substantive change. The SACSCOC Liaison works with VSU administrators to assemble required SACSCOC documentation as needed throughout the year. The SACSCOC Substantive Change policy is available online.

The academic forms below are available in Word 2007; users should be able to save copies of these forms to their computers, title them appropriately, type in the required information, print forms, and then subsequently revise the forms as needed. Signed hard copies of the forms should be submitted for all required meetings; after the Academic Committee has approved a form, programs should also submit electronic copies of the form to the catalog editor.